Spurs get road how-to lesson

If, as coach Gregg Popovich seems apt to believe, winning on the road in the NBA is an acquired skill, the Spurs’ recently completed, two-game Florida jaunt provided lessons in both what to do and what not to do when away from home.

One night after Popovich thought his team “folded” in the second half of a 120-98 loss at Miami, the Spurs gutted out an at-times ugly 85-83 overtime win at Orlando for their first road victory of the season.

“That’s what it takes on the road,” said Popovich, whose team returns to the AT&T Center tonight against Sacramento. “We had to work through some things. (Before), we’ve given in on the road, so to speak.

“It takes a while for that message to get through.”

After the collapse in Miami, where a 14-point halftime lead gave way to the Spurs’ most lopsided defeat of the season, Popovich tried screaming his message.

He blasted his team as “soft,” derided what he thought was his players’ lack of mental toughness, and said they should be embarrassed.

Not all Spurs agreed with that assessment. Tony Parker pointed to LeBron James’ red-hot, 17-point third quarter as the primary reason the game went south in Miami.

“Sometimes in basketball, people get hot and you can’t do anything about it,” Parker said.

Still, Popovich’s words were still ringing in the Spurs’ ears by the time they arrived in Orlando. A night later against the Magic, the Spurs gutted out the win despite shooting 42.9 percent, including 2 of 17 from 3-point range.

“Coach knows what he’s doing,” forward Richard Jefferson said. “We’ve got to do a better job of not necessarily needing him to get on us.”

Joseph’s shot: In each of the past two games, Popovich used rookie Cory Joseph as Parker’s primary backup. Shooting guard Gary Neal had been moonlighting in the role ever since T.J. Ford went down with a torn hamstring Jan. 10 in Milwaukee.

Neal has struggled with his shot since shifting to the lead guard role, missing 16 of 18 3-pointers at one point. Joseph, the 29th overall pick from Texas, was playing in the Development League before Ford’s injury.

“I like to give Cory the opportunity, to see what we have in him,” Popovich said. “At the same time, it makes Gary’s life easier if he knows what position he’s playing.”

All-Star balloting: The NBA released its latest All-Star polling numbers Thursday, with little change in fortunes for the Spurs’ trio of candidates.

Tim Duncan is still running seventh among Western Conference forwards, Manu Ginobili is eighth among guards and Parker is not among the top 10.

With less than two weeks remaining until starters are announced for the Feb. 26 game in Orlando, it is unlikely results will change much.

Though coaches will have an opportunity to vote on reserves, the Spurs are in danger of not sending a representative to the All-Star Game for the first time since 1997.